Camping in the wet-season

Now we have a realy bad habit of being in the wrong place in the wrong time. We were down in Victoria in the middle of winter, the coldest time, and we were up top in the hottest time of year. It does save us from getting all the tourists, a big pain for us, as we are noisy, spread out and like space. So here we are, mid-February and in Derby, catching the wet season. So how do we survive the rain?



We have a good awning, and the boys put a tarp over the stretcher tents. To combat the mud on the ground, we have several black foam mats that we put down. You want to pick a good place that is well grassed, or even better, on gravel.

Luckily, we waterproofed the caravan before we left (God Bless Don). Since then, we haven't had a leak in the caravan, which we where very grateful for. We waterproofed the caravan with some help from a friend that ran a waterproofing business.


We sort of wished we could of waterproof the boys tents!! Both boys sleep in their stretcher tents, and the rain seeps through quite quickly. We think we have found the solution but- Scotch guard!!. Joel can now let water sit on top of his tent, and none soaks through. A top thing to do to waterproof leaking tents!!

Pegs also pull out quite easily when the ground is soft and they are under pressure. I suggest trying out longer pegs, and seeing how that works. We ran an ocky strap around something solid, and attached the awning ropes to the ocky strap.





What about you? Do you always end up in the wrong place at the wrong time? Have you ever survived a top end wet season?

Bereft of Beaches

Now I'm telling the truth when I write this, we have done approximately 6729km of driving (approx.) before again swimming at a beach. Look at it this way, we haven't swam at a beach for 9 months. Now we brought 5 surboards on this trip, 4 boogyboards, and a big container filled with watersport gear. Considering we have brought so much beach stuff, it's a shame we haven't used it more often.

After not swimming at a a beach for 9 months, you can imagine how nice it would be to go to Broome and swim at the beach. Cable Beach is beautiful, and the water is crystal clear. The Visitor Information Centre doesn't say you should swim, nor does it say shouldn't. When we saw the beach we were excited and decided to go for a swim.






Broome is home to some humongous tides, and it was quite a walk to the beach. We greatly enjoyed splashing around in the rock pools. Joel also caught some bush tucker, as he has been watching Bush Tucker Man lately. It was nice to walk in the sand.







What about you? Where was the last beach you went to? What's your favorite beach?

The River of Life

As I sat on the lounge today scrolling through all the photos taken over this wonderful trip, I came upon a set of waterfalls and rapids that Josh had taken. It reminded me of life. Here are my thoughts on the river of life.

There is clear still water everywhere. We are all just smoothly floating along, content and our life is going fine. Then we come to the rapids, where we are swirled round and round and start to feel a bit knocked around and wondering where the still water that we were once on is now.

Then we come to the waterfalls, and we sink to our lowest yet. We can feel abandoned, depressed and confused. What's going on we all wonder? Why is my life seemingly crumbling? But the best is still to come. Like the water purifies from all it's racing over rapids and waterfalls, we are made stronger. God place trials in front of all of us to test us, and strengthen us. He will never test us beyond our endurance.

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

We will be tested in life, but it will refine us. We will go over rapids and waterfalls, but we will eventually reach the still, slow waters after the waterfalls and rapids.




What are your thoughts on the river of life?

Misadventures in the Snow

I wrote about all our adventures in the snow, so today I'll write about our not-so-exciting adventures in the snow. Dad (a teacher) had work at the Cabrummura school and we were all excited to have another day at the snow. We were going to drive over to Adaminaby in the afternoon to pick up our snow chains, as our tyres were bigger than most and Adaminaby was the only place to get them.

Halfway through the day,
 it started snowing. As Dad went out from school, one of the teachers assured him that the road was clear and free of snow. As he headed up the mountain, there started to be snow on the road. As he headed up a hill, the car lost traction and the back slid into a ditch filled with snow. Unable to get the car out, he started the long walk to Selwyn Snowfields. About halfway there, he was picked up by a Snowy Hydro worker and driven the rest of the way.



We were all relieved to see Dad, although the car was still stuck. We rang the NRMA and they came up form Adaminaby to pull us out. We heard from some other people that 4 4WD's were on their roof on the road. We were lucky to be able to get out and got safely home. As we headed out to the car, we were all almost blown away by the wind. It was really strong!!

Needless to say, we got snow chains. The NRMA drove them up to us, and we were all safe. Now we have snow chains stored in the back, and might not ever use them. We won't have to worry about snow on the road again but!!




What about you? Did you have any misadventures at the snow? What's your worst experience at the snow?

Adventures in the Snow

Yesterday, I talked about the great experiences we had at Cubbaroo. It was really hot at Cubbaroo, which was sort of a relief as we had spent a month free-camping at the snow. I thought I would tell you about or adventures (and misadventures) at the snow.

We were originally staying in a caravan park, but we took the plunge, and decided to free camp, saving money and a bit of driving time in the process. Our chosen camp was Paddy's River Flat, where there was a toilet block and hot water at the kitchen sink. There was a little stream, that just added to the picturesqueness. To survive through the cold temperatures, we had a fire going most of the time, and we also run a fan heater through our generator. As our generator broke down, we also purchased a LPG heater (simply sits on top of the gas bottle).

An unexpected Visitor!!

We had a pig pay us a visit one day. Joel first noticed it and couldn't resist the photo opportunity. I came from across the road, and disappeared into the forest. Mystery still unsolved.

Lovely Fire!

We had to get quiet a lot of wood for this fire. It was all simply dead wood, and luckily there was plenty of it around. We simply made a bundle of sticks and dragged it home with a rope.

Joel, as he was the only skier, took it upon himself to teach the girls to ski. He was a good ski instructor, and the girls are still calling him ski-instructor today. It's apparently a very hard job, as when Tahlia is full and can't eat her desert all he has to do is call out "ski-instructor" and the desert now belongs to him. We all are naturally jealous of the privileges of his job. 

 1 lesson, a good big brother, and perseverance (as well as a mum that gives out good cuddles when she falls over and hurts herself) is all Tahlia needed to be able to ski the slopes like a pro. She was only 3 years old, but picked up on it really quickly and was amazing by the end!!

 Joel really enjoyed free-camping at the snow, especially when we got him a good sleeping bag!! If we go again he wants to free-camp, opposite to the girls in the family!!

What about you? Where are your favorite snowfields?

An Experience of a Lifetime

After the snow, we headed up to a cattle station. Dad had previously arranged this, and he was working as a home tutor for a term. The three older kids, also got the extremely exciting opportunity to work on the station with the station owner!! We were all thrilled to get such an opportunity, as it would most likely be once in a lifetime opportunity.




What we did at Cloncurry:
-Mustering the cattle- on horses, quads and motorbikes
-Working them in the yards- branding, sorting cattle, castrating, vaccinating, preg-testing.
-Moving cattle between different paddocks
-Maintenance work- fences, troughs
-Rounding up wild cattle from paddocks
- Working horses- saddling and bridling
 -Loading cattle on trucks
 -Feeding animals- pigs, chickens and a poddy calf


While at Cubbaroo, we went to the Curry Merry Muster. On Friday night, we went for the taster, and we all saw our first Rodeo!! The boys were excited, and the little girls were talking about bucking bulls for the next month.It was great!!

All our favourite bits of the station:
Josh- I greatly enjoyed the mustering and yardwork
Joel: Mustering on both horses and motorbikes
Bethany: Mustering the cattle, as well as practicing my horseriding and motorbike skills
Chloe and Tahlia: Riding on Shammy and playing with the kids, as well as the pool. Tahlia had a hate/love relationship with the pool as she learned to swim without a bubble here.




I turned 13 at Cubarroo. After recieving my presents, the boys and I headed out to the yards near the horse to watch the yardwork. All of a sudden, the question was popped at us kids about whether or not we wanted to preg test some cows aoming through. The boys both declined, but I took the chance. If you don't know what preg testing a cow involves, I'll give you a brief description. After donning a shoulder length glove, you stick your hand up the cows bottom, and if it is pregnant, you will feel a hard rock shape thing. That is the calf's head. I can now officially brag that I stuck my hand up a cows bottom for my 13th birthday!!

What about you? Whats your experience of a lifetime?

Good Reading in the Caravan

I read a lot of books so it's quite hard to narrow down to a few favorites. Here are some anyway:

-Silver Brumby Books
 Personally, the first 4 books are the best. Several questions were raised in my mind:
1. How disastrous are our results when we disturb and destroy nature?
2. What should happen with the brumbies that are still roaming today? Should they be culled, caught, or left alone?

Silver Brumby on Amazon

-Sword and Staff Series

My brother (a very particular reader) really liked this book. I also greatly enjoyed it. I am waiting eagerly for the next book to come out.

Sword and Staff on Amazon. 

-Descendants Saga
I like fiction, especially christian fiction, and this book was a thriller to read.

Descendants Saga on Amazon

-Harvest of Rubies/Harvest of Gold
The story of a senior scribe in Persia, Sarah serves in the queens household in the time of Nehemiah. She struggles with her worth and who God really is. She believes her worth is more in her work than herself. This a struggle many people have.

Harvest of Rubies on Amazon

-The Anne Stories
I love Anne. She is such a great talker, and the books have a simple sweetness in them. I have read all the books of Anne, and they were lovely.

Anne of Green Gable on Amazon

- Elsie Dinsmore Series
I like Elsie's pure faith, shining through the book. She always turns to God for help.When I'm feeling down, sometimes it helps just to read a little.  She does seem a little too good sometimes. There is also the Millie Keith and Voilet Travilla. I have read the new versions of Violet and Millie, but I read the original version of Elsie.

Elsie Dismore on Amazon- Original

-When Jesus Wept
The story of Lazurus, and the tears that Jesus shed for him.

When Jesus Wept on Amazon

- Before Bethlehem
The story of why Joseph and Mary came to be married, and the pressures that they faced at that time from the Romans.

Before Bethlehem on Amazon

- Little Woman/ Little Men/ Jo's Boys
I like Jo. I can sort of relate to her in her adventurous spirit, hot temper, and boyishness.

Little Woman on Amazon

You might wonder how I store all theses books. All our family has kindles, and we have found them extremely useful for travel purposes. You can share books between kindles, and they are extremely compact. At the moment I have 250 books on my kindle. If you are travelling, I highly recommend them.

What about you? What have you been reading? What's your favourite book?